AMHERST — The town won’t be closing a section of North Pleasant Street to vehicular traffic during summer weekends to create a downtown pedestrian area to potentially spur economic activity.

Members of the Town Services and Outreach Committee recently rejected an idea brought to town officials of regularly making a portion of the road in the downtown commercial district into a pedestrian mall.

“That is not really possible because that is the main north-south route through the center of town,” Town Manager Paul Bockelman told the panel.

Besides carrying a significant amount of cars through town center, the road serves emergency vehicles at the Central Fire Station, including firetrucks and ambulances.

The road has been closed when the Amherst Business Improvement District holds its Celebrate Amherst Block Party once a year, though on those occasions Fire Department operations are moved to another site.

“To do that during the summer is just not feasible,” Bockelman said.

While the North Pleasant idea may be not be a go, District 5 Councilor Shalini Bahl-Milne said she wonders if have Amherst has an alleyway or a short street that could accommodate a closure similar to what Northampton did on Strong Avenue during the summer of 2021. That “Summer on Strong” initiative featured tables at which to dine, flower boxes and a gazebo where live music was performed.

“We don’t have a place like that,” Bockelman said of downtown Amherst, pointing out that a site would be needed that’s close to restaurants.

The closest situation is on Boltwood Walk, where Bockelman said there has been a successful plaza for Johnny’s Tavern, and tables have been set up for people to eat food taken out from restaurants along Main and North Pleasant streets, like Bueno y Sano and Pasta e Basta.

District 5 Councilor Ana Devlin Gautthier said while a street closure may not be possible, outdoor dining will continue at some restaurants.

But Bockelman said even as outdoor dining rules have been relaxed, the town won’t dedicate as many parking spaces to create these spots as it did during the past two years. He explained that there is likely to be a decline in interest in outdoor dining, with many restaurants expecting inside dining to be more popular as the pandemic wanes.